KENTUCKY (TIP): Indian American Nima Kulkarni took everyone by surprise in the Democratic primary for Kentucky House of Representatives’ District 40 on May 22, when she defeated Dennis Horlander who has served in the house for more than two decades.

She defeated the Democratic incumbent to secure her spot in the general elections, which will be held on November 6.

The other Democrats whom she defeated are Logan Gatti and Kelly Gibson.

Kulkarni won 46.59 percent votes against Horlander’s 25.37 percent.

Kulkarni will now face Joshua Neubert, who was elected unopposed in the Republican primary.

Kulkarni was born in India and moved to the United States when she was six with her parents, Suhas and Surekha, and her brother Nikhil.

The family owned and operated the 8 to 8 grocery store in Germantown, Kentucky, where Nima and Nikhil worked delivering groceries.

Kulkarni graduated from Atherton High School and received a bachelor’s degree in English and MBA from the University of Louisville.

She is a recipient of the Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from David A Clarke School of Law at the University of the District of Columbia, in Washington, DC.  She is a member of the Georgia and Kentucky bar associations.

Kulkarni founded the Indus Law Firm that specializes in immigration, employment, and business law. Kulkarni is also a member of both the Georgia, Kentucky and Louisville Bar Associations.

Kulkarni currently lives in the St. Joseph’s neighborhood of the District 40, with her husband Raegan Maddox.

A community leader, she founded a non-profit, New Americans Initiative, to educate, engage and build awareness of immigration and immigration-related issues.

She serves on a number of boards, including that of Louisville Public Media, the Community Foundation of Louisville, the Indian Professional Council of Kentucky and the Beaded Treasures Project.